Chapter XVII: Book VI (3)

Wearied with thinking, and better reconciled to my expedition, I fell into a sound sleep. I was awakened by Strates in the morning, (the 21st of May) who, from the next room, had heard all the conversation between me and Negadé Ras, and began now to think there was no safety but in the camp of the king. I will not repeat his wise expostulations against going to the cataract. We were rather late, and I paid little regard to them. After coffee, I mounted my horse, with five servants on horseback, all resolute, active, young fellows, armed with lances in the fashion of their country. I was joined that moment by a son of Mahomet, on a good horse, armed with a short gun, and pistols at his belt, with four of his servants, Mahometans, stout men, each having his gun, and pistols at his girdle, and a sword hung over his shoulder, mounted upon four good mules, swifter and stronger than ordinary horses. We galloped all the way, and were out of sight in a short time. We then pursued our journey with diligence, but not in a hurry; we went first to a hilly and rocky country, full of trees, mostly of unknown kinds, and all of the greatest beauty possible, having flowers of a hundred different colours and forms upon them, many of the trees were loaded with fruit, and many with both fruit and flowers. I was truly sorry to be obliged to pass them without more distinct notice; but we had no time, as the distance to the cataract was not absolutely certain, and the cataract then was our only object.

After passing the plain, we came to a brisk stream which rises in Begemder, passes Alata, and throws itself into the Nile below the cataract. They told me it was called Mariam Ohha; and, a little farther, on the side of a green hill, having the rock appearing in some parts of it, stands Alata, a considerable village, with several smaller, to the south and west. Mahomet, our guide, rode immediately up to the house where he knew the governor, or Shum, resided, for fear of alarming him; but we had already been seen at a considerable distance, and Mahomet and his servants known. All the people of the village surrounded the mules directly, paying each their compliments to the master and the servants; the same was immediately observed towards us; and, as I saluted the Shum in Arabic, his own language, we speedily became acquainted. Having overshot the cataract, the noise of which we had a long time distinctly heard, I resisted every entreaty that could be made to me to enter the house to refresh myself. I had imbibed part of Strates’s fears about the unsettledness of the times, and all the kind invitations were to no purpose; I was, as it were, forced to comply to refresh our horses.

I happened to be upon a very steep part of the hill full of bushes; and one of the servants, dressed in the Arabian fashion, in a burnoose, and turban striped white and green, led my horse, for fear of his slipping, till it got into the path leading to the Shum’s door. I heard the fellow exclaiming in Arabic, as he led the horse, “Good Lord! to see you here! Good God! to see you here!”--“I asked him who he was speaking of, and what reason he had to wonder to see me there.”--“What! do you not know me!” “I said I did not.”--“Why, replied he, I was several times with you at Jidda. I saw you often with Capt. Price and Capt. Scott, with the Moor Yasine, and Mahomet Gibberti. I was the man that brought your letters from Metical Aga at Mecca, and was to come over with you to Masuah, if you had gone directly there, and had not proceeded to Yemen or Arabia Felix. I was on board the Lion, with the Indian nokeda (so they call the captain of a country ship) when your little vessel, all covered with sail, passed with such briskness through the English ships, which all fired their cannon; and everybody said, there is a poor man making great haste to be assassinated among those wild people in Habesh; and so we all thought. He concluded, Drink! no force! Englishman! very good! G--d damn, drink!” We had just arrived, while my friend was uttering these exclamations, at the place where the Shum and the rest were standing. The man continued repeating the same words, crying as loud as he could, with an air of triumph, while I was reflecting how shameful it was for us to make these profligate expressions by frequent repetition, so easily acquired by strangers that knew nothing else of our language.

The Shum, and all about him, were in equal astonishment at seeing the man, to all appearance, in a passion, bawling out words they did not understand; but he, holding a horn in his hand, began louder than before, drink! very good! Englishman! shaking the horn in the Shum his master’s face. Mahomet of Alata was a very grave, composed man; “I do declare, says he, Ali is become mad: Does anybody know what he says or means?”--“That I do, said I, and will tell you bye-and-bye; he is an old acquaintance of mine, and is speaking English; let us make a hasty meal, however, with any thing you have to give us.”

Our horses were immediately fed; bread, honey, and butter served: Ali had no occasion to cry, drink; it went about plentifully, and I would stay no longer, but mounted my horse, thinking every minute that I tarried might be better spent at the cataract. The first thing they carried us to was the bridge, which consists of one arch of about twenty-five feet broad, the extremities of which were strongly let into, and rested on the solid rock on both sides; but fragments of the parapets remained, and the bridge itself seemed to bear the appearance of frequent repairs, and many attempts to ruin it; otherwise, in its construction, it was exceedingly commodious. The Nile here is confined between two rocks, and runs in a deep trough, with great roaring and impetuous velocity. We were told no crocodiles were ever seen so high, and were obliged to remount the stream above half a mile before we came to the cataract, through trees and bushes of the same beautiful and delightful appearance with those we had seen near Dara.

The cataract itself was the most magnificent sight that ever I beheld. The height has been rather exaggerated. The missionaries say the fall is about sixteen ells, or fifty feet. The measuring is, indeed, very difficult, but, by the position of long sticks, and poles of different lengths, at different heights of the rock, from the water’s edge, I may venture to say that it is nearer forty feet than any other measure. The river had been considerably increased by rains, and fell in one sheet of water, without any interval, above half an English mile in breadth, with a force and noise that was truly terrible, and which stunned and made me, for a time, perfectly dizzy. A thick fume, or haze, covered the fall all round, and hung over the course of the stream both above and below, marking its track, though the water was not seen. The river, though swelled with rain, preserved its natural clearness, and fell, as far as I could discern, into a deep pool, or bason, in the solid rock, which was full, and in twenty different eddies to the very foot of the precipice, the stream, when it fell, seeming part of it to run back with great fury upon the rock, as well as forward in the line of its course, raising a wave, or violent ebullition, by chaffing against each other.

Jerome Lobo pretends, that he has sat under the curve, or arch, made by the projectile force of the water rushing over the precipice. He says he sat calmly at the foot of it, and looking through the curve of the stream, as it was falling, saw a number of rainbows of inconceivable beauty in this extraordinary prism. This however I, without hesitation, aver to be a downright falsehood. A deep pool of water, as I mentioned, reaches to the very foot of the rock, and is in perpetual agitation. Now, allowing that there was a seat, or bench, which there is not, in the middle of the pool, I do believe it absolutely impossible, by any exertion of human strength, to have arrived at it. Although a very robust man, in the prime and vigour of life, and a hardy, practised, indefatigable swimmer, I am perfectly confident I could not have got to that seat from the shore through the quietest part of that bason. And, supposing the friar placed in his imaginary seat under the curve of that immense arch of water, he must have had a portion of firmness, more than falls to the share of ordinary men, and which is not likely to be acquired in a monastic life, to philosophise upon optics in such a situation, where every thing would seem to his dazzled eyes to be in motion, and the stream, in a noise like the loudest thunder, to make the solid rock (at least as to sense) shake to its very foundation, and threaten to tear every nerve to pieces, and to deprive one of other senses besides that of hearing. It was a most magnificent sight, that ages, added to the greatest length of human life, would not deface or eradicate from my memory; it struck me with a kind of stupor, and a total oblivion of where I was, and of every other sublunary concern. It was one of the most magnificent, stupendous sights in the creation, though degraded and vilified by the lies of a groveling, fanatic peasant.

I was awakened from one of the most profound reveries that ever I fell into, by Mahomet, and by my friend _Drink_, who now put to me a thousand impertinent questions. It was after this I measured the fall, and believe, within a few feet, it was the height I have mentioned; but I confess I could at no time in my life less promise upon precision; my reflection was suspended, or subdued, and while in sight of the fall I think I was under a temporary alienation of mind; it seemed to me as if one element had broke loose from, and become superior to all laws of subordination; that the fountains of the great deep were extraordinarily opened, and the destruction of a world was again begun by the agency of water.

It was now half an hour past one o’clock, the weather perfectly good; it had rained very little that day, but threatened a showery evening; I peremptorily refused returning back to Alata, which our landlord importuned us to. He gave us a reason that he thought would have weight with us, that he, too, had his meery, or money, to send to the king, which would be ready the next morning as early as we pleased. The mention of to-morrow morning brought all my engagements and their consequences into my mind, and made me give a flat refusal, with some degree of peevishness and ill-humour. I had soon after found, that he had otherwise made up this affair with Mahomet our guide; but being resolute, and, a moment after, taking leave of our kind Shum, we were joined by Seide his eldest son, and our _English friend Drink_, each upon a mule, with two servants on foot, his father, as he said, being unwilling to spare more people, as the whole inhabitants of Alata, their neighbours and friends, intended soon to surprise Guebra Mehedin, if a feasible opportunity offered.

Though we went briskly, it was past five before we arrived at Dara. Netcho had not stirred, and had procured another cow from Mahomet, of which all the strangers, and soldiers who remained, partook. Mahomet, I believe, out of kindness to me, had convinced them of the necessity of taking along with them the Shum of Alata’s money; and Netcho well knew that those who brought any part of the revenue to Ras Michael were always received kindly; and he was not interested enough in the cause to make more haste than necessary to join the king.

Strates was completely cloathed, and received his sash upon my arrival. He feigned to be wonderfully hurt at my having left him behind in my excursion to the cataract. At supper I began to question him, for the first time, what had happened to him with Guebra Mehedin. “Sure, Strates, said I, you two were once friends; I have dined with you together many a time at Ayto Engedan’s, and often seen you with him in Gondar.”--“Gondar! says he, I have known him these fourteen years, when he was a child in his father Basha Eusebius’s house; he was always playing amongst us at his uncle Kasmati Eshté’s; he was just one of us; nay, he is not now twenty-six.”

Strates proceeded--“We were crossing the plain below Dara, and not being inclined to go into the town without you, we made to a large daroo-tree, and sat down to rest ourselves till you should come up. As the ground was somewhat elevated, we saw several horses in the bed of a torrent where there was no water running, and, when these were pulled up the bank, their masters got immediately upon them. I conceived the one with the red sash upon his head was Guebra Mehedin, and presently eight or ten naked people, armed with lances and shields, came out of the hole nearest me. I was surprised, and thought they might be robbers, and, kneeling down upon one knee, I presented the large blunderbuss at them. On this they all ran back to their hole, and fell flat on their faces; and they did well; I should have given them a confounded peppering.”--“Certainly, said I, there is little doubt of that.”--“You may laugh, continued Strates, but the first thing I saw near me was Confu and Guebra Mehedin, the one with a red, the other a kind of white fillet tied round his forehead. O ho! friend, says Guebra Mehedin, where are you going? and held out his hand to me as kindly, familiarly, and chearfully as possible. I immediately laid down my blunderbuss, and went to kiss his hand. You know they are the good old queen’s nephews; and I thought if their house was near we should have good entertainment, and some merriment that night. I then saw one of their servants lift the blunderbuss from the ground, but apparently with fear, and the rest took possession of the mules and baggage. I began to ask Guebra Mehedin what this meant? and said accidentally, _ente you!_ instead of speaking it _entow_, as you know they pronounce it to great people. Without further provocation he gave me a lash with his whip across the eyes, another behind took hold of your sword that was flung upon my shoulders, and would have strangled me with the cord if I had not fallen backwards; they all began then to strip me. I was naked in a minute as I was the hour I was born, having only this night-cap; when one of them, a tall black fellow, drew a crooked knife, and proposed to pay me a compliment that has made me shudder every time I have since thought of it. I don’t know what would have been the end of it, if Confu had not said, Poh! he is a _white_ man, and not worth the _scarifying_: Let us seek his master, says Guebra Mehedin, he will by this have passed the Gomara; he has always plenty of gold both from the king and Iteghé, and is a real Frank, on which account it would be a sin to spare him. On this away they went skirmishing about the plain. Horsemen came to join them from all parts, and every one that passed me gave me a blow of some kind or other. None of them hurt me very much, but, no matter; I may have my turn: we shall see what figure he will make before the Iteghé some of these days, or, what is better, before Ras Michael.”

“That you shall never see, says Negadé Ras Mahomet, who entered the room in the instant, for there is a man now without who informs us that Guebra Mehedin is either dead or just a-dying. A shot fired at him, by one of you at the Gomara, cut off part of his cheek-bone; the next morning he heard that Kasmati Ayabdar was going to the hot waters at Lebec with servants only, and the devil to whom he belonged would not quit him; he would persist, ill as he was, to attack Ayabdar, who having, unknown to him, brought a number of stout fellows along with him, without difficulty cut his servants to pieces. In the fray, Tecla Georgis, a servant who takes care of Ayabdar’s horse, coming up with Guebra Mehedin himself, hurt as he was, struck him over the skull with a large crooked knife like a hatchet, and left him mortally wounded on the field, whence he was carried to a church, where he is now lying a miserable spectacle, and can never recover.” Strates could hold no longer. He got up and danced as if he had been frantic, sometimes singing Greek songs, at another time pronouncing ten thousand curses, which he wished might overtake him in the other world. For my part, I felt very differently, for I had much rather, considering whose nephew he was, that he should have lived, than to have it said that he received his first wound, not a mortal one, but intended as such, from my hand.

CHAP. V.

_Pass the Nile and encamp at Tsoomwa--Arrive at Derdera--Alarm on approaching the Army--Join the King at Karcagna._

On the 22d of May we were all equally desirous to resume our journey. We set out accordingly at six o’clock in the morning, ascending some hills covered, as the former ones, with trees and shrubs, utterly unknown to me, but of inexpressible beauty, and many of extraordinary fragrance. We continued ascending about three miles, till we came to the top of the ridge within sight of the lake. As we rose, the hills became more bare and less beautiful. We afterwards descended towards the passage, partly over steep banks which had been covered with bushes, all trodden down by the army, and which had made the access to the river exceedingly slippery. Here we saw the use of Mahomet’s servants, three of whom, each with a lance in one hand, holding that of his companion in the other, waded across the violent stream, sounding with the end of their lances every step they took. The river was very deep, the current, I suppose, fifty yards broader than it was at the cataract; but the banks were, for a great way on each side, almost perfectly level, though much obstructed with black stones. In the middle it was very deep, and the stream smooth, so that it was apparent our horses must swim. For my part I did not like the smooth stones at the bottom, as a fall there would have been irrecoverable; and my horse was shod with iron, which is not usual in Abyssinia. I therefore resolved to swim where I could not wade, and, wrapping my cloaths in a bundle, I gave them to a servant, who carried them over on his head. I then waded in, and found the water unexpectedly cold. Mahomet rode on a mule by my side, sometimes swimming, sometimes walking. I attempted to sound up towards the lake, and found it deeper there. I returned, therefore, being unwilling to try experiments, and, committing myself to the stream, swam to the other side, much comforted by the assurance that no crocodile passed the cataract.

The beasts having got over, the men followed much quicker; many women, going to join the army, swam over, holding the tails of the horses, and we were all on the other side before twelve o’clock, the beasts a good deal tired with the passage, the steepness of the access to it, and the still greater depth on the other side. For my part, I thought we could not have gone on to Tsoomwa, but it was carried against me. Tsoomwa is about twelve miles distant; and I suppose it was not much past three o’clock when we arrived there, which was very fortunate, as we had scarcely pitched our tents before a most terrible storm of rain, wind, and thunder overtook us. My tent was happily placed in one respect, being on a flat on the lee-side of a hill, and sheltered from the storm; but, on the other hand, the water ran so plentifully from above as quite to overflow it on the inside till a trench was dug to carry it off.

Ras Michael had burnt nothing at Tsoomwa, though there was a house of Powussen’s in the place, built by his father. But that dissembler, to prevent the worst, and carry on the farce to the uttermost, had sent many bags of flour for the use of the King and the Ras, which were to be distributed to the army in case they wanted.

From the passage to Tsoomwa, all the country was forsaken; the houses uninhabited, the grass trodden down, and the fields without cattle. Every thing that had life and strength fled before that terrible leader, and his no less terrible army; a profound silence was in the fields around us, but no marks as yet of desolation. We kept strict watch in this solitude all that night. I took my turn till twelve, as I was the least fatigued of any. Netcho had picquets about a quarter of a mile on every side of us, with fire-arms to give the alarm.

On the 23d, about three in the morning, a gun was heard on the side towards the passage. This did not much alarm us, though we all turned out. In a few minutes came Ayto Adigo, (not the Shum of Karoota, already mentioned, who left us at the Gomara,) but a young nobleman of Begemder of great hopes, one of the gentlemen of the king’s bed-chamber, and consequently my colleague. He intended to have brought four horses to the king, one of which he had drowned, or rather, as I afterwards understood, throttled in passing the Nile at the mouth of the lake; and two men, the king’s servants, had perished there likewise. He came in great hurry, full of the news from Begemder, and of the particulars of the conspiracy, such as have been already stated. With Ayto Adigo came the king’s cook, Sebastos, an old Greek, near seventy, who had fallen sick with fatigue. After having satisfied his inquiries, and given him what refreshment we could spare, he left Sebastos with us, and pursued his journey to the camp.

On the 24th, at our ordinary time, when the sun began to be hot, we continued our route due south, through a very plain, flat country, which, by the constant rains that now fell, began to stand in large pools, and threatened to turn all into a lake. We had hitherto lost none of our beasts of carriage, but we now were so impeded by streams, brooks, and quagmires, that we despaired of ever bringing one of them to join the camp. The horses, and beasts of burthen that carried the baggage of the army, and which had passed before us, had spoiled every ford, and we saw to-day a number of dead mules lying about the fields, the houses all reduced to ruins, and smoking like so many kilns; even the grass, or wild oats, which were grown very high, were burnt in large plots of a hundred acres together; every thing bore the marks that Ras Michael was gone before, whilst not a living creature appeared in those extensive, fruitful, and once well-inhabited plains. An awful silence reigned everywhere around, interrupted only at times by thunder, now become daily, and the rolling of torrents produced by local showers in the hills, which ceased with the rain, and were but the children of an hour. Amidst this universal silence that prevailed all over this scene of extensive desolation, I could not help remembering how finely Mr Gray paints the passage of such an army, under a leader like Ras Michael--

Confusion in his van with flight combin’d,
And Sorrow’s faded form, and Solitude behind.

At Derdera we saw the church of St Michael, the only building which, in favour of his own name, the Ras had spared. It served us then for a very convenient lodging, as much rain had fallen in the night, and the priests had all fled or been murdered. We had this evening, when it was clear, seen the mountain of Samseen. Our next stage from Derdera was Karcagna, a small village near the banks of the Jemma, about two miles from Samseen. We knew the king had resolved to burn it, and we expected to have seen the clouds of smoke arising from its ruins, but all was perfectly cool and clear, and this very much surprised us, considering the time he had to do this, and the great punctuality and expedition with which his army used to execute orders of this kind. As we advanced, we had seen a great number of dead mules and horses, and the hyænas so bold as only to leave the carcase for a moment, and snarl as if they had regretted at seeing any of us pass alive.

Since passing the Nile I found myself more than ordinarily depressed; my spirits were sunk almost to a degree of despondency, and yet nothing had happened since that period more than was expected before. This disagreeable situation of mind continued at night while I was in bed. The rashness and imprudence with which I had engaged myself in so many dangers without any necessity for so doing; the little prospect of my being ever able to extricate myself out of them, or, even if I lost my life, of the account being conveyed to my friends at home; the great and unreasonable presumption which had led me to think that, after every one that had attempted this voyage had miscarried in it, I was the only person that was to succeed; all these reflections upon my mind, when relaxed, dozing, and half oppressed with sleep, filled my imagination with what I have heard other people call the _horrors_, the most disagreeable sensation I ever was conscious of, and which I then felt for the first time. Impatient of suffering any longer, I leaped out of bed, and went to the door of the tent, where the outward air perfectly awakened me, and restored my strength and courage. All was still, and at a distance I saw several bright fires, but lower down, and more to the right than I expected, which made me think I was mistaken in the situation of Karcagna. It was then near four in the morning of the 25th. I called up my companions, happily buried in deep sleep, as I was desirous, if possible, to join the king that day. We accordingly were three or four miles from Derdera when the sun rose; there had been little rain that night, and we found very few torrents on our way; but it was slippery, and uneasy walking, the rich soil being trodden into a consistence like paste.

About seven o’clock we entered upon the broad plain of Maitsha, and were fast leaving the lake. Here the country is, at least a great part of it, in tillage, and had been, in appearance, covered with plentiful crops, but all was cut down by the army for their horses, or trodden under foot, from carelessness or vengeance, so that a green blade could scarcely be seen. We saw a number of people this day, chiefly straggling soldiers, who, in parties of threes and fours, had been seeking, in all the bushes and concealed parts of the river, for the miserable natives, who had hid themselves thereabouts; in this they had many of them been successful. They had some of them three, some of them four women, boys and girls, who, though Christians like themselves, they nevertheless were carrying away into slavery to sell them to the Turks for a very small price.

A little before nine we heard a gun fired that gave us some joy, as the army seemed not to be far off; a few minutes after, we heard several dropping shots, and, in less than a quarter of an hour’s time, a general firing began from right to left, which ceased for an instant, and then was heard again as smart as ever, about the occasion of which we were divided in opinion.

Netcho was satisfied that Woodage Asahel, from Samseen, had fallen upon Ras Michael at Karcagna, to prevent his burning it, and that Fasil had strongly reinforced him that he might be able to retard the army’s march. On the other hand, having been informed by Ayto Adigo, that news were come to Gondar that Fasil had left Buré, and that Derdera was the place agreed on by Gusho and Powussen to shut up Michael on the rear, I thought that it was Fasil, to make good his part of his promise, who had crossed the Nile at Goutto, and attacked Ras Michael before he suffered him to burn Samseen. Indeed we all agreed that both opinions were likely to be true, and that Fasil and Woodage Asahel would both attack the king at the same time. The firing continued much in the same way, rather slacker, but apparently advancing nearer us; a sure sign that our army was beaten and retreating. We, therefore, made ourselves ready, and mounted on horseback, that we might join them. Yet it was a thing appeared to us scarcely possible, that Fasil should beat Ras Michael so easily, and with so short a resistance.

We had not gone far in the plain before we had a sight of the enemy, to our very great surprise and no small comfort. A multitude of deer, buffaloes, boars, and various other wild beasts, had been alarmed by the noise and daily advancing of the army, and gradually driven before them. The country was all overgrown with wild oats, a great many of the villages having been burnt the year before the inhabitants had abandoned them; in this shelter the wild beasts had taken up their abodes in very great numbers. When the army pointed towards Karcagna to the left, the silence and solitude on the opposite side made them turn to the right to where the Nile makes a semi-circle, the Jemma being behind them, and much overflowed. When the army, therefore, instead of marching south and by east towards Samseen, had turned their course north-west, their faces towards Gondar, they had fallen in with these innumerable herds of deer and other beasts, who, confined between the Nile, the Jemma, and the lake, had no way to return but that by which they had come. These animals, finding men in every direction in which they attempted to pass, became desperate with fear, and, not knowing what course to take, fell a prey to the troops. The soldiers, happy in an occasion of procuring animal food, presently fell to firing wherever the beasts appeared; every loaded gun was discharged upon them, and this continued for very near an hour. A numerous flock of the largest deer met us just in the face, and seemed so desperate, that they had every appearance of running us down; and part of them forced themselves through, regardless of us all, whilst others turned south to escape across the plain.

The king and Ras Michael were in the most violent agitation of mind: though the cause was before their eyes, yet the word went about that Woodage Asahel had attacked the army; and this occasioned a great panic and disorder, for everybody was convinced with reason that he was not far off. The firing, however, continued, the balls flew about in every direction, some few were killed, and many people and horses were hurt; still they fired, and Ras Michael, at the door of his tent, crying, threatening, and tearing his grey locks, found, for a few minutes, the army was not under his command. At this instant, Kasmati Netcho, whose Fit-Auraris had fallen back on his front, ordered his kettle-drums, to be beat before he arrived in the king’s presence; and this being heard, without it being known generally who we were, occasioned another panic; great part of the army believed that Powussen and Gusho were now at hand to keep their appointment with Fasil, and that Netcho and I were his Fit-Auraris. The king ordered his tent to be pitched, his standard to be set up, his drums to beat, (the signal for encamping) and the firing immediately ceased. But it was a long while before all the army could believe that Woodage Asahel had not been engaged with some part of it that day. Happily, if near at hand, he did not lay hold of this favourable opportunity; for I am convinced, if, just before our arrival, he had attacked Michael on the Samseen side, with 500 horse, our whole army had fled without resistance, and dispersed all over the country.

Here I left Kasmati Netcho, and was making my way towards the king’s tent, when I was met by a servant of confidence of Kefla Yasous, who had that day commanded the rear in the retreat, a very experienced officer, brave even to a fault, but full of mildness and humanity, and the most sensible and affable man in the army. He sent to desire that I would come to him alone, or that I would send one of the Greeks that followed me. I promised to do so, after having answered most of the questions that he bade his servant ask of me. After this I searched for Strates and Sebastos, who had been sick upon the road.

I soon came up with them, and was more surprised than I had been for several days, to see them both lie extended on the ground; Strates bleeding at a large wound in his forehead, speaking Greek to himself, and crying out his leg was broken, whilst he pressed it with both his hands below the knee, seemingly regardless of the gash in his head, which appeared to me a very ugly one, so that I, of course, thought his leg was still worse. Sebastos was lying stretched along the ground, scarcely saying any thing, but sighing loudly. Upon my asking him whether his arm was broken? he answered feebly, that he was a dying man, and that his legs, his arms, and his ribs were broken to pieces. I could not for my life conceive how this calamity had happened so suddenly, for I had not been half an hour absent talking to Kefla Yasous’s servant; and, what seemed to me still stranger, every body around them were bursting out into fits of laughter.

Ali Mahomet’s servant, who was the only person that I saw concerned, upon my asking, told me that it was all owing to prince George, who had frightened their mules. I have already hinted that this prince was fond of horsemanship, and rode with saddle, bridle, and stirrups, like an Arab; and, though young, was become an excellent horseman, superior to any in Abyssinia. The manner that two Arabs salute one another, when they meet, is, the person inferior in rank, or age, presents his gun at the other, about 500 yards distance, charged with powder only; he then, keeping his gun always presented, gallops these 500 yards as fast as he can, and, being arrived close, lowers the muzzle of his gun, and pours the explosion just under the other’s stirrups, or horse’s belly. This they do, sometimes twenty at a time, and you would often think it was impossible somebody should escape being bruised or burnt.

The prince had learned this exercise from me, and was very perfect at the performance of it. We had procured him a short gun, with a lock and flint instead of a match, and he shot not only justly, but gracefully on horseback. He had been out after the deer all the morning; and hearing that I was arrived, and seeing the two Greeks riding on their mules, he came galloping furiously with his gun presented, and, not seeing me, he fired a shot under the belly of Strates’s mule, upon the ground, and wheeling as quick as lightning to the left, regardless of the mischief he had occasioned, was out of sight in a moment, before he knew the consequences.

Never was compliment worse timed or relished. Strates had two panniers upon his mule, containing two great earthen jars of hydromel for the king; Sebastos had also some jars and pots, and three or four dozen of drinking-glasses, likewise for the king; each of the mules was covered with a carpet, and also the panniers; and upon the pack-saddle, between these panniers, did Strates and Sebastos ride. The mules as well as the loading belonged to the king, and they only were permitted to ride them because they were sick. Strates went first, and, to save trouble, the halter of Sebastos’s mule was tied to Strates’s saddle, so the mules were fastened to and followed one another. Upon firing the gun so near it, Strates’s mule, not used to compliments of this kind, started, and threw him to the ground; it then trampled upon him, began to run off, and wound the halter around Sebastos behind, who fell to the ground likewise amongst some stones. Both the mules then began kicking at each other, till they had thrown off the panniers and pack-saddles, and broke every thing that was brittle in them. The mischief did not end here, for, in struggling to get loose, they fell foul of the mule of old Azage Tecla Haimanout, one of the king’s criminal judges, a very old, feeble man, and threw him upon the ground, and broke his foot, so that he could not walk alone for several months afterwards. As soon as I had pitched a tent for the wounded, and likewise dressed Tecla Haimanout’s foot, I went to Kefla Yasous, while the two Mahomets proceeded to the Ras with their money.

The moment I came into the tent, Kefla Yasous rose up and embraced me. He was sitting alone, but with rather a chearful than a dejected countenance; he told me they were all in great concern, till Ayto Adigo’s arrival, at a report which came from Gondar that we had fought with Guebra Mehedin, and had all been slain. I informed him every thing I knew, or had heard, but he had better intelligence than I in every article but this last, fresh news having arrived the night before by way of Delakus. He said, the rebellion of Gusho and Powussen was certain; that the King and Ras knew every circumstance of it, and that Court-ohha was the place appointed with Fasil to meet and cut them off; he had not heard of Woodage Asahel’s march, but seemed to give full credit to it; he said it was certain, likewise, that Fasil had advanced towards Maitsha; but where his quarters were he did not know, probably they were not at a great distance. He complained violently of his march, and of the number of beasts which they had lost; he wished also that Fasil would be induced to give battle where they were encamped, as his horse would probably be of little use to him among so many torrents and rivers, and must suffer considerably in their advancing hither.

I asked him whither they were now marching? He said, that, as soon as the news of the conspiracy were known, a council was held, where it was the general opinion they should proceed, briskly forward, and attack Fasil alone at Buré, then turn to Gondar to meet the other two; but then they had it upon the very best authority that great rain had fallen to the southward; that the rivers, which were so frequent in that part of the country, were mostly impassable, so there would be great danger in meeting Fasil with an army spent and fatigued with the difficulty of the roads. It was, therefore, determined, and the Ras was decidedly of that opinion, that they should keep their army entire for a better day, and immediately cross the Nile, and march back to Gondar; that they had accordingly wheeled about, and that day was the first of their proceeding, which had been interrupted by the accident of the firing. Kefla Yasous offered me all sorts of refreshments, and I dined with him; he sent also great abundance for my servants to my tent, lest I should not have yet got my appointments from the king. I then went directly to my own tent, where I found all that belonged to me had arrived safe, under the care of Francisco; and having now procured clothes, instead of those taken from me by Guebra Mehedin, I waited upon the king, and staid a considerable time with him, asking much the same questions Kefla Yasous had done. I would have paid my respects to the Ras also, but missed him, for he was at council.

CHAP. VI.

_King’s Army retreats towards Gondar--Memorable Passage of the Nile--Dangerous Situation of the Army--Retreat of Kefla Yasous--Battle of Limjour--Unexpected Peace with Fasil--Arrival at Gondar._

It was on the 26th of May, early in the morning, that the army marched towards the Nile. In the afternoon we encamped, between two and three, on the banks of the river Coga, the church Abbo being something more than half a mile to the north-west of us.

Next morning, the 27th, we left the river Coga, marching down upon the Nile; we passed the church of _Mariam-Net_, as they call the church of St Anne. Here the superior, attended by about fifty of his monks, came in procession to welcome Ras Michael; but he, it seems, had received some intelligence of ill-offices the people of this quarter had done to the Agows by Fasil’s direction; he therefore ordered the church to be plundered, and took the superior, and two of the leading men of the monks, away with him to Gondar; several of the others were killed and wounded, without provocation, by the soldiers, and the rest dispersed through the country.

Prince George had sent immediately in the morning to put me in mind that I had promised, in the king’s tent at Lamgué, under Emfras, to ride with him in his party when in Maitsha. He commanded about two hundred and fifty chosen horse, and kept at about half a mile’s distance on the right flank of the army. I told the king the prince’s desire; who only answered, dryly enough, “Not till we pass the Nile; we do not yet know the state of this country.” Immediately after this, he detached the horse of Siré and Serawé, and commanded me with his own guards to take possession of the ford where the Fit-Auraris had crossed, and to suffer no mule or horse to pass till their arrival.

There were two fords proposed for our passage; one opposite to the church Boskon Abbo, between the two rivers Kelti and Aroossi, (on the west of the Nile,) and the Coga and Amlac Ohha from the east; it was said to be deep, but passable, though the bottom was of clay, and very soft; the other ford proposed was higher up, at the second cataract of Kerr. It was thought of consequence to chuse this ford, as the Kelti, (itself a large and deep river) joined by the Branti, which comes from the westward of Quaquera, brings, in the rainy season, a prodigious accession of water to the Nile; yet, below this, the guides had advised the Ras to pass, and many found it afterwards a sound bottom, very little deeper, with level ground on both sides. We arrived about four on the banks of the Nile, and took possession in a line of about 600 yards of ground.

From the time we decamped from Coga it poured incessantly the most continued rain we ever had yet seen, violent claps of thunder followed close one upon another, almost without interval, accompanied with sheets of lightning, which ran on the ground like water; the day was more than commonly dark, as in an eclipse; and every hollow, or foot-path, collected a quantity of rain, which fell into the Nile in torrents. It would have brought into the dullest mind Mr Hume’s striking lines on my native Carron--

Red ran the river down, and loud and oft
The angry spirit of the water shriek’d.
DOUGLAS.

The Abyssinian armies pass the Nile at all seasons. It rolls with it no trees, stones, nor impediments; yet the sight of such a monstrous mass of water terrified me, and made me think the idea of crossing would be laid aside. It was plain in the face of every one, that they gave themselves over for lost; an universal dejection had taken place, and it was but too visible that the army was defeated by the weather, without having seen an enemy. The Greeks crowded around me, all forlorn and despairing, cursing the hour they had first entered that country, and following these curses with fervent prayers, where fear held the place of devotion. A cold and brisk gale now sprung up at N. W. with a clear sun; and soon after four, when the army arrived on the banks of the Nile, these temporary torrents were all subsided, the sun was hot, and the ground again beginning to become dry.

Netcho, Ras Michael’s Fit-Auraris, with about 400 men, had passed in the morning, and taken his station above us in little huts like bee-hives, which the soldiers, who carry no tents, make very speedily and artificially for themselves, of the long, wild oats, each straw of which is at least eight feet long, and near as thick as an ordinary man’s little finger. He had sent back word to the king, that his men had passed swimming, and with very great difficulty; that he doubted whether the horses, or loaded mules, could cross at any rate; but, if it was resolved to make the trial, they should do it immediately, without staying till the increase of the river. He said both banks were composed of black earth, slippery and miry, which would become more so when horses had puddled it; he advised, above all, the turning to the right immediately after coming ashore, in the direction in which he had fixed poles, as the earth there was hard and firm, besides having the advantage of some round stones which hindered the beasts from slipping or sinking. Instead, therefore, of resting there that night, it was resolved that the horse should cross immediately.

The first who passed was a young man, a relation of the king, brother to Ayamico killed at the battle of Banja; he walked in with great caution, marking a track for the king to pass. He had gone upon rather solid ground, about twice the length of his horse, when he plunged out of his depth, and swam to the other side. The king followed him immediately with a great degree of haste, Ras Michael calling to him to proceed with caution, but without success. Afterwards came the old Ras on his mule, with several of his friends swimming both with and without their horses on each side of him, in a manner truly wonderful. He seemed to have lost his accustomed calmness, and appeared a good deal agitated; forbade, upon pain of death, any one to follow him directly, or to swim over, as their custom is, holding their mules by the tail. As soon as these were safely ashore, the king’s household and black troops, and I with them, advanced cautiously into the river, and swam happily over, in a deep stream of reddish-coloured water, which ran without violence almost upon a level.

Each horseman had a mule in his hand, which swam after him, or by his side, with his coat of mail and head-piece tied upon it. My horse was a very strong one, and in good condition, and a servant took charge of my mule and coat of mail, so that, being unembarrassed, I had the happiness to get safe and soon over, and up the path to the right without great difficulty, so had most others of the cavalry who swam along with us; but the ground now began to be broken on both sides of the passage, and it was almost as difficult to get in, as it was to scramble up the bank afterwards.

_Quis cladem illius noctis, quis funera fando,
Temperet a lachrymis._----
VIRG.

It is impossible to describe the confusion that followed; night was hard upon us, and, though it increased our loss, it in great measure concealed it; a thousand men had not yet passed, though on mules and horses; many mired in the muddy landing-place, fell back into the stream, and were carried away and drowned. Of the horse belonging to the king’s household, one hundred and eighty in number, seven only were missing; with them Ayto Aylo, vice-chamberlain to the queen, and Tecla Mariam the king’s uncle, a great friend of Ras Michael’s, both old men.

The ground on the west side was quite of another consistence than was that upon the east, it was firm, covered with short grass, and rose in small hills like the downs in England, all sloping into little valleys which carried off the water, the declivity being always towards the Nile. There was no baggage (the tent of the Ras and that of the king excepted) which had as yet come over, and these were wet, being drenched in the river. The Fit-Auraris had left, ready made, two rafts for Ozoro Esther, and the other two ladies, with which she might have easily been conducted over, and without much danger; but the Ras had made Ozoro Esther pass over in the same manner he had crossed himself, many swimming on each side of her mule. She would have fain staid on the east side, but it was in vain to remonstrate. She was with child, and had fainted several times; but yet nothing could prevail with the Ras to trust her on the other bank till morning. She crossed, however, safely, though almost dead with fright. It was said he had determined to put her to death if she did not pass, from jealousy of her falling into the hands of Fasil; but this I will by no means vouch, nor do I believe it. The night was cold and clear, and a strong wind at north-west had blown all the afternoon. Guebra Mascal, and several of Ras Michael’s officers, had purposely tarried behind for gathering in the stragglers. The river had abated towards mid-night, when, whether from this cause, or, as they alledged, that they found a more favourable ford, all the Tigré infantry, and many mules lightly loaded, passed with less difficulty than any of the rest had done, and with them several loads of flour; luckily also my two tents and mules, to my great consolation, came safely over when it was near morning. Still the army continued to pass, and those that could swim seemed best off. I was in the greatest distress for the good Ammonios, my lieutenant, who was missing, and did not join us till late in the morning, having been all night busy in seeking Ayto Aylo, the queen’s chamberlain, and Tecla Mariam, who were his great companions, drowned probably at the first attempt to pass, as they were never after heard of.

The greatest part of the foot, however, crossed in the night; and many were of opinion that we had mistaken the passage altogether, by going too high, and being in too great a haste; the banks, indeed, were so steep, it was very plain that this could never have been an accustomed ford for cavalry. Before day-light the van and the center had all joined the king; the number, I believe, that had perished was never distinctly known, for those that were missing were thought to have remained on the other side with Kefla Yasous, at least for that day. Kefla Yasous, indeed, with the rear and all the baggage of the army, had remained on the other side, and, with very few tents pitched, waited the dawn of the morning.